You may have blinked and missed it, but yesterday heralded a not-unsubstantial change in the way all things fertility-related are to be regulated in Malta. The amended law on assisted reproduction was approved and passed and started being implemented as of 1st October.

What I will attempt to do is give you a little summary of what can and can’t be done in Malta from this point on, and what has actually changed. Once again, I’ll refrain from rhetoric and judgement. You’re all grown-ups and capable of forming your own opinions, however, the unfortunate (or fortunate) thing is, the die has been cast and this is the law that Maltese residents must abide by for the future.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Valletta yesterday afternoon in protest against a proposed IVF law that will legalise embryo freezing, gamete donation and altruistic surrogacy.

The protestors marched with placards such as ‘Embryos are one of us’, ‘I am not an object’ and ‘Why shouldn’t I have the right to know my mother?’, and a large sign with the words ‘We have abandoned our conscience in the name of equality’ was hung above Republic Street. In an act of resistance against the Bill, protestors even left an entire freezer outside Parliament complete with warnings against embryo freezing. Read more